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CLI Reference

Usage

kist [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]

Running kist without a subcommand launches the interactive TUI.

Global options

Option Description
--version, -v Show version and exit.
--help Show help for any command.

Commands

kist init

Initialise a new kist parts library.

kist init [OPTIONS]

By default, opens the interactive init wizard. Use --no-tui to skip the wizard and create the library with defaults.

Option Default Description
--path, -p . Directory to initialise.
--symbols-dir symbols Symbol library directory name.
--footprints-dir footprints Footprint library directory name.
--models-dir 3dmodels 3D model directory name.
--blocks-dir blocks Design blocks directory name.
--no-tui Skip interactive wizard, use CLI defaults.

Link a project directory to an existing kist library.

kist link LIBRARY_PATH [OPTIONS]

Creates a kist.toml project reference and a lib/ symlink so KiCad can find your symbols via ${KIPRJMOD}/lib/.

Argument / Option Default Description
LIBRARY_PATH (required) Path to an existing kist library.
--path, -p . Project directory to link from.

kist add

Add a part to the library.

kist add [URL_OR_MPN]

If a DigiKey URL or MPN is provided, kist fetches metadata from the supplier API and populates the part form. Opens the TUI add screen for review and editing.

Argument Description
URL_OR_MPN (optional) DigiKey URL or manufacturer part number to fetch.

Search for parts in the library.

kist search QUERY

Searches across part name, description, tags, MPN, and base part number. Results are displayed as a table with name, tier, category, and description columns.

Argument Description
QUERY (required) Search term.

kist check

Validate the parts library.

kist check

Checks for:

  • Name drift -- parts whose stored name doesn't match what would be generated from their current data.
  • Duplicate identity -- multiple parts with the same identity tuple (category + key specs + package).

Exits with code 1 if any issues are found.

kist sync

Sync KiCad symbol files and lib tables with the parts database.

kist sync

Regenerates all .kicad_sym symbol files and updates the sym-lib-table in the linked project directory. This is run automatically after part mutations in the TUI, but can be invoked manually if needed.

If no project directory is found (i.e. no kist.toml above the library), the sym-lib-table update is skipped.